1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a hay harvesting machine for windrowing hay, moving swaths of hay, tedding hay and the like which includes at least one drum which has a base and a wall, and is rotatable about an axis which is inclined within a predetermined range to the vertical, a flexible skirt which has substantially the shape of a truncated cone, and is connected to the base for sweeping up the hay, and a plurality of arms arranged in a plurality of rows along the wall, and which extend therefrom so as to cooperate with the skirt for further movement of the hay.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a machine of this type, each drum is provided with arms for facilitating the displacement of hay. These arms are disposed on several rows or levels. The arms of the upper levels extend in planes substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the corresponding drum, while the arms of the lowest level are slightly bent downwardly. The arms of the lowest level are mounted on the wall of each drum near the skirt thereof; each skirt is connected to a respective drum. The arms of the lowest level of each drum thus form an an acute angle with the skirt of the drum.
The space between the arms of the lowest level and the skirt frequently becomes clogged. In fact, the hay which is transported on the upper surface of the skirt glides below the arms of the lowest level and remains wedged between these arms and the skirt. Such a clogging of the aforedescribed space impairs transportation of hay. The operator of the machine is thus obliged to intervene manually and to withdraw any hay wedged in this manner. This operation is very tedious as it necessitates an interruption of the work each time the aforedescribed space becomes clogged.
Furthermore, the arms of the prior art do not cooperate very efficiently with the skirts of the respective drums for moving the hay. When the hay is very dense it often passes over the drums.